


Thick and Thin

by WeBuiltThePyramids



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Childbirth, F/M, Family, Gen, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-09
Packaged: 2018-09-21 17:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9560240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeBuiltThePyramids/pseuds/WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Walter's feelings over the impending birth of his and Paige's child grow decidedly mixed after learning why Ralph has been so excited about the baby. (NOT Serendipity-verse)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this came to me. Randomly. After updating Analogous tonight. And apparently I can't complete a full chapter of that, and I can't work on the fic collab I have due in less than two weeks, but I CAN start a new multi – chapter Waige + Ralph fic that deals with how complicated relationships are when you start thinking about biology vs. relationships forged by choice.

"Walter."

He rolled over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Paige shifted her weight, hauling herself into a sitting position. "But I can't sleep through them anymore."

"That is a good thing," Walter said. "It means you're progressing." She'd been having mild contractions, off and on, for nearly three days. But until now, she'd only noticed them when awake, or when not distracted by something else.

"Yep." She smiled at him. "Today could be the day. Are you excited?"

"Of course I am," Walter said. "Aren't you?"

"Well of course," Paige responded. "But this is the first time you get to experience all this."

Walter was going to remind her that he wasn't looking forward to her having to go through the process of bringing their son into the world. But they'd had that conversation before. _It's part of the deal,_ Paige said to him, _and it's all worth it, once we see him. It's worth it a million times over. I promise. You'll see._ So, to respond to her, he simply nodded.

Paige grabbed his hand. "The first time you'll get to hold a little baby in your arms and know that he came from you. The first time someone will grab onto your finger. The first time you'll get to cuddle someone close and feed them and they'll fall asleep in your arms..." she smiled at him lovingly. "It's an incredible experience, Walter. Becoming a parent."

The first time she'd said this to him, back in the second month, Walter had reminded her that he was already a parent. _I know you are,_ Paige had responded. _You're just as much Ralph's parent as you are parent to this child. But you become a parent each time you have a child. The books, the classes, they prepare you for the birth of the child. But there's nothing that can prepare you for the birth of a parent. It's the greatest feeling in the world._ So he smiled. "I can't believe he's almost here."

Paige smiled. "I do wish you'd let me name him after you."

"That feels so narcissistic." Walter still had no guilt over his feelings of superiority when it came to comparing his intelligence to most of the population – though it was easy to be humbled even in that department when one of the four people smarter than him shared his living space – but when it came to personal relationships, even nineteen months into a relationship with Paige Dineen, he was still self-conscious about how he came across.

"Just the middle name. And we could call him Wally."

"That is a terrible nickname."

"Well, do you have any ideas, genius?" She leaned back against the pillows and smiled.

"No," he admitted. "None at all. It doesn't make sense. Names don't mean anything, not really. In theory we should be able to just open up a book of baby names, close our eyes, point, and that's his name. But nothing feels right." He shook his head. "Is this something normal people struggle with?"

Paige nodded. "Absolutely. I knew Ralph's name early on because I knew I wanted to name him after my father. And that was his middle name. But after that I kinda ran out of fathers." She ran her thumb across the top of Walter's hand. "Maybe we'll know when we see him, huh? We've been throwing these names around for a while. I don't think anything will change until he's here."

"You're probably right." Walter ran a hand over her stomach. "Do you think it's time to go to the hospital?"

Paige shifted her weight. "Water hasn't broken. And..." she glanced at the clock radio on the stand next to the bed. "They're definitely more than five minutes apart. We can wait, still. I went to the hospital really early with Ralph and they think the stress of being in an unfamiliar environment prolonged it."

Walter rose, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "I'm just going to go out and let Ralph know that you're up."

"Kay." Paige's eyes were soft as she looked up at him. "I love you."

"I love you," he echoed, pausing to look at her, squeezing her hand. He never liked to say it and then immediately leave the room.

She smiled. "Go."

He closed the door quietly behind him, even though he knew that she wouldn't fall back asleep now. He knew he wouldn't either – he hadn't the first twenty four hours. It was all too exhilarating.

This baby hadn't been planned, but hadn't exactly been an accident, either. They'd just reunited, after more than a week apart on a case in Poland. What was supposed to be a thirty six hour job – maximum – had escalated, quickly and to dangerous proportions, and Walter, Paige, and Sylvester had spent four days separated and in near solitary confinement. The team had reunited at a motel, where they'd spend a night before sending in their final reports to the embassy and flying home. Walter never brought condoms with him on a job, and Paige hadn't had access to her pills in nine days. But they'd been starved for each other's touch after such an extended period of time completely alone.

" _Risk it?" She asked against his lips, a hand running through his hair as she shifted her position on the couch to find one of the buttons on his shirt._

" _Risk it," he'd groaned in response._

The blood test had come back positive seven weeks later, confirming what their instincts and four home tests had already told them. They'd kept it to themselves for a week before telling Ralph, and another week somehow managed to go by before the rest of the team found out.

Everyone had been supportive, but Ralph's response was what was burned into Walter's memory. The boy's face had lit up in a way Walter hadn't seen since he and Paige had told him that they were together.

The following day, Ralph had asked if he could call Walter _dad_. Paige's response had been concern – wondering if he'd felt threatened. But no, Ralph said. It just felt right. He'd been thinking about asking for a while.

When he'd gone off to school, Paige had flung her arms around Walter. _I'm so happy._

_Me too._

Ralph had been the one to tell the team, with Walter and Paige's permission. Ralph went to as many doctor's appointments as he could. Ralph rested his hand on his mother's stomach while they all cuddled on the couch watching movies, seemingly fascinated by every movement of his little brother inside her.

Walter rapped lightly at the boy's bedroom door. "Ralph?"

Silence.

He knocked again, slightly harder. "Ralph, buddy?"

Still nothing. Walter cracked the door open. "Ralph."

"Huh?"

"Watch your eyes," he said, pausing for a moment before flicking the light switch. Ralph sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Your mom's up." Walter couldn't help the smile that came over his face. "I think it's going to be today."

"How is she?"

"She's good." Walter crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "Uncomfortable. But that's been the norm the past few months."

"Yeah." Ralph smiled.

"You know, Ralph," Walter said, "your mom and I are so excited about this child. And it's even more exciting to us knowing that you're happy about it, too. We're so incredibly lucky – both of us – to have a son like you." He reached out and covered the boy's hand with one of his.

"Well," Ralph said, shrugging. "Of course I'm happy. Now that you and my mom will have a baby of your own, we're tied together even more." He turned his hand over under Walter's, curling his fingers around the older genius'. "She worked so hard to give me a relationship with Drew. Now no matter what happens, nothing will ever fully break us apart."

Walter hoped the sick feeling that was pooling in his stomach wasn't evident on his face. Ralph didn't want a sibling. He wanted stability.


	2. Chapter 2

Ralph smiled up at Walter, seemingly unaware of the conflict twisting its way around the older genius' gut. Walter squeezed the boy's hand, offering him a smile. "Well, I should get back and see how your mom is doing. I just wanted to let you know that it's almost time."

"Thank you, Dad," Ralph said, his smile morphing into a grin that took up his entire face.

"Ah, my boys."

Walter turned to see Paige standing in the doorway, a smile on her face. "Hey Ralphie."

"Hi Mom. How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Paige ran her hands over her stomach. "Pretty uncomfortable, but fine."

"How far apart are your contractions?"

"Seven to ten minutes. But they're mild. It'll be a while yet if you did want to go back to sleep."

"No." Ralph shook his head. "I'm fine." He sat up. "Do you want to watch more of the movies?"

Paige laughed. "Honestly part of me never wants to watch another movie again." Ralph and Walter both smirked. "But you know, this whole process is stressful for the baby, too. Maybe some Disney movie or something with fun music. It'll relax him."

"Brother Bear," Ralph said. Paige beamed at him. The baby had always seemed to relax when they were watching that movie. As Paige didn't know what Ralph and Walter had been talking about, it was clear that she thought that this was just a happy big brother paying attention to what his brother responded to, even before he was born. Walter felt awkward watching Paige smile at her older child that way.

"Paige, let me go help you use the bathroom before we sit down to the movie. Ralph, you want to boot it up?"

"This was a good idea," Paige said as the boy rushed past them and she and Walter began to walk down to the bathroom. "I didn't realize how much I had to pee before you said that."

"Yeah, uh..." Walter scratched the back of his neck. "So. So...uh..." He cleared his throat, shutting the bathroom door behind them. "You know...there's something we didn't...discuss...about this whole..." she reached for his hands for balance as she lowered herself onto the toilet, and he grabbed them as his mind raced, searching for a way to phrase what he wanted to say. "Uh, about this whole thing."

Paige looked up at him. "It's a bit late in the process to realize we forgot to talk about something, isn't it?" She asked with a smirk.

"I mean...Ralph." He saw her raise her eyebrows. "His father abandoned him. Don't you think that he might feel a little jealous of this baby?"

"Walter," Paige said with a smile he knew was meant to put him at ease, "we did talk about this. We told him that we are going to love him just as much as we always have, and that this child being biologically yours doesn't mean that you're going to stop caring for him like you do now. And Toby was there – he said that Ralph was telling the truth when he said he believed us. "

Walter remembered this conversation. Ralph had said he thought that the three of them extending their family would make them stronger. _Trust me, I don't doubt that Ralph thinks that. He's relying on it._ "I don't...I mean..." He cleared his throat. "How do you think blood and water weigh against each other?"

"You mean like, if your relationship with your blood is stronger than the relationship with your friends?"

"Actually, the full quote is _blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,_ " Walter said. "So it says that relationships that you choose to be in are stronger than ones that have nothing but biology in common."

Paige was silent. "I don't..." Walter said quickly, "I don't mean that biological relationships aren't...aren't worth it. You and Ralph...myself and Megan... _us and this child_ ," he said in a low voice as he helped her stand up. "It just means that if you're really close with someone you're not related to, you're not automatically closer to someone you're biologically related to _because_ of biology. But...do you think that having a biological relationship with a person can strengthen your relationship with someone else?"

She frowned. "What are you talking about?"

He bit his lip. She was his go to. When something was bothering him, he told her, that's how it had been for a long, long time. But this...was _this_ the time to bring this up? He didn't want to upset her. And he wasn't even sure he was making sense.

He wasn't even sure how he _felt_. Was he more upset that Ralph didn't really want his little brother? Or was the fact that Ralph thought that anything shy of this meant he could someday lose Walter.

He was never going to lose Walter, no matter what happened between the older genius and Paige. Walter would move mountains if that's what it ever took to stay in that boy's life.

Paige smoothed her shirt over her stomach, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Walter stepped closer to her, waiting if she needed to hang on to him. She stayed relatively still for twenty five, thirty, thirty five, nearly forty seconds, then shook her head.

Walter ran his hand up and down her back. "You okay?"

"The'yre still not very painful," Paige said. "Whew. Leaving me a little out of breath, though."

"Let's go sit." Walter suggested. "I'm sure Ralph has the movie up by now. Hey," he said, grabbing her hand as she started to move down the hall. She stopped, turning to face him with a curious smile on her face. Walter stepped as close as he could to her, leaning forward to brush his lips gently across hers. "I love you."

* * *

Ralph's head was resting against Paige's upper arm, and one of his hands was stretched over her, fingers splayed over her belly. Walter hated that the warm, fuzzy feeling he had been getting from that identical image for months was gone now.

_I wish you hadn't told me about how you feel, Ralph._

He instantly felt guilty. Parents were supposed to want their children to be honest with them, even if it hurt. If he couldn't react properly to Ralph – who he knew as well as anyone, who was so like him – how was he supposed to be a good parent to this new baby? He shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, will you cut it out?"

He looked at Paige. She was side eyeing him, one eyebrow raised. "What...what did I do?"

"I keep shifting my weight and you keep mimicking me." Her tone sounded playful.

Walter was glad she wasn't mad – especially since "that's not what I was doing," he said. "I'm just...thinking." He scanned her body. "You're sitting oddly."

"I'm uncomfortable," she said. "I swear, nothing that I've tried has made it any better."

"The contractions still not painful?" He looked at the DVD player. They were forty five minutes into the movie. _Can things move along a little, please?_

"Nope. I mean, they're not intense. They're more tiring than anything else."

"It's probably fatigue from the past few days setting in," Walter said. "You've been at this for a while."

"Yeah. But early labor doesn't really tire you out. And I've been sleeping well, until today." She stretched. "Oh, leg cramp."

"I got it," Walter said, squeezing between the couch and the coffee table to massage her calf. She smiled down at him.

Ralph scooted closer. "Do you still think it will be today, Mom?"

"Probably," she said. "They weren't regular the first couple of days. They're still not intense, but they're getting closer together and they're more consistent. Those are all signs that active labor will start soon. Then we can go to the hospital and really get things started." She slid the arm he'd been leaning on around him and grinned as she cuddled him closer. "I'm so excited, baby."

"Me too."

"Ow!" Paige jerked her leg away from Walter.

He realized he'd applied too much pressure to the knot. "Sorry!"

She smiled. "I can't be mad at you today. But for the record you don't get to remind me about saying that when I'm in the delivery room cursing you for doing this to me," she added with a wink.

"Hey now. You were the one who initially suggested we go it without protection."

" _Guys_."

"Sorry, Ralph," Walter and Paige chorused in unison.


	3. Chapter 3

"God, I'm so bored," Paige said.

"This one isn't as good as the original," Walter agreed. "Why does he need a love interest? He's already got the little bear."

"Well you know, Walter," Paige said jokingly, "some studies are now suggesting that you can have a significant relationship with more than one person."

Walter rolled his eyes. "Of course I know that. I just mean...this particular bear."

"They're animated talking bears, Walter," Paige said. "One of them used to be a human. We're already suspending belief a little bit here, and this specifically is not even a stretch."

"They're not technically talking bears," Ralph said. "Remember when he was trying to talk to Tanana in the first one? She said she didn't speak bear."

Paige grunted and shifted her weight. "You know," Walter said, "if the contractions aren't hurting yet, why don't you see if you can get back to sleep?" It wouldn't help Walter and Ralph pass the time, but it'd help her.

"I won't be able to sleep," Paige said. "They don't hurt per se, but it's too uncomfortable. I can feel them, in that way they're too strong for me to be able to fall asleep."

"I wish there was something I could do to help you," Walter said, running a hand over her stomach.

"My mom told me that she was in labor with me for almost a week. But it was like this – weak, erratic contractions, she was uncomfortable but things didn't progress enough for the hospital to admit her until the fifth day. Once they got regular and strong, I came along in just six hours. Which wasn't bad for a first baby. Sometimes, you can start having contractions, and they'll go away, and then it's days before they start up again. This is so complicated and so different for every woman. Which makes it suck all the more because you never know what to expect. Or, I guess..." she smiled and shrugged, "I guess we could spin it as more _fun_ instead."

Walter leaned over and kissed her cheek. She put a hand on his chest.

"Are you hungry, Mom?" Ralph asked. "I could make us sandwiches. Unless...unless you need to stop eating."

"I don't think I'm far enough along to want to just go to water and ice," Paige said. "I'd love a sandwich, Ralph. Thank you."

Ralph grinned, jumping up. "Walter, do you want anything?"

 _Yeah, I want to stop doubting your motivation behind everything you're doing._ "No, buddy, I'm good. You're doing a great job helping me take care of your mom."

Paige turned toward Walter, smiling, and took his hand. "My boys," she said, her eyes bright despite her fatigue. "Walter, I know that...I know that this wasn't exactly...entirely on purpose, but...but I'm really happy."

Walter hesitated, then smiled back at her. "Me too, Love. Me too." He realized it was the truth. He loved Paige. He loved Ralph. They loved him. What he felt at the knowledge that Ralph wasn't excited about the baby for the reasons he and Paige were was undeniably crushing disappointment, but...but he couldn't think about that right now. There were so many other things to be happy about. He swallowed hard. _I'm not telling Paige what Ralph said. At least, not today._

"I need to get more deodorant," she said. "Help me up."

"Oh, okay," Walter said, getting to his feet. Paige grabbed his hands, wobbling slightly as she rose. "I'll be glad to have my center of balance back soon," she said.

"Oh, you don't like me needing to be there every time you use the bathroom?" Walter asked jokingly.

"Well you know, I'm comfortable enough with you for you to knock me up," she said with a smirk, "but while I may be comfortable with you helping me use the bathroom, I _much_ prefer the activities that got me into this state."

"Hey now," Walter said, "don't be looking at me like that when it's six to eight weeks before I can do anything about it."

Paige's grin lasted only another second or so before she looked down, gently rubbing her stomach. "They still don't hurt?" Walter asked, mentally counting the seconds.

"Nope," Paige said. "Like very mild menstrual cramps." She took in a deep breath. "But the discomfort is...is different. It's hard to describe. What is easy to describe is I'm sweating buckets and I need my deodorant." She raised her eyebrows pointedly, and Walter realized he was standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Stammering, he stepped to the side, letting her in.

"Do you want me to get you a new shirt?" Walter asked.

"God, the pressure is unreal," Paige said, turning. She closed her eyes, gripping Walter's hands as she faced him, drawing in a long breath and slowly blowing out.

"We can go get you sitting on that ball if you'd like. The one that's supposed to relieve your pelvis." Walter knew she knew what ball. He didn't know why he specified.

"Maybe." Paige nodded, shifting her hips from side to side. Walter watched her for any signs of immediate distress. She was clearly extremely uncomfortable, but she either had the highest pain tolerance he'd ever seen or her contractions weren't that strong yet. She'd been laboring for three days. That was taxing on the body, even though they were still in the early stages. He wished things would speed up soon.

When the contraction eased, Paige drew in another breath. "Whew."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but...oh God."

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Uh..." She waddled over to the tub and leaned over, placing a hand on the edge and using it for balance as she slid a hand under the waistband of her shorts, shifting her knees apart. Walter saw her face change. "Oh God Walter, he's coming."

"Wait...wait..." Walter looked at her in alarm. "What do you mean?"

"His head, I can feel it." She bent at the waist, her other hand curling around her stomach. "Walter, I gotta push."

"No!" He crouched down next to her. "Paige, it's early yet. Let's get the bag and get to the car. We'll go to the hospital. No pushing, Paige, do you hear me?"

"Walter, I can't." She straddled the tub, sinking down on it and leaning forward, balancing on her arms. " _Oh_ my God."

He ran his hand up and down her back. "Paige, breathe, just breathe, you're a little freaked out right now, but that's okay, you hear me? We'll just get you calmed down and then we'll go get the bag. This is just early labor..."

Her brow had quickly broken out in sweat. "Walter, this isn't early labor." Her hands slid under her bump. "The contractions just haven't hurt as badly as we expected." She closed her eyes and leaned sideways against him. "He's coming, Walter."

Walter could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Now? He'd thought – they'd both thought they were hours away from having to go to the hospital. And yet this didn't even count as fast labor. She'd likely been in active labor for hours – and they just had had no idea. It would certainly explain why she was so exhausted. "I thought your water hadn't broken yet."

" _Well, it must have_!" She shrieked.

"Let me get Ralph," Walter said. "He'll call an ambulance for us."

"Don't go," she said, looking at him with wide eyes.

" _Ralph_!"

The boy appeared almost as quickly as he could have. "Mom?"

"Her contractions haven't been painful," Walter said. "She's a lot farther along than we thought. Call an ambulance. No – call Cabe. No!" He shouted as Ralph turned to go. The boy turned back, his face pale. "Call an ambulance _and_ call Cabe. Okay, Ralph?" Walter asked. "Can you do that for me?"

Ralph nodded. "Mom!"

"It's going to be fine, baby," Paige said with a warm smile. "Just go and call them for us, okay?" Her completely calm expression made Walter wonder if maybe things _weren't_ quite so progressed.

He was proven wrong seconds later, when Ralph vanished and Paige's demeanor changed, almost instantaneously. "Walter, I can't..." she panted. "I can't stop it. I gotta push. I gotta..."

"Okay," he said. The classes had said that panting could slow things down, if only just a little. But she was already doing that. "But let's get you to the bed first. You don't want him to come into the world here, do you?" She bit her lip as she looked at him. "What?"

"I'm afraid if I stand up he'll slip right out."

Walter wished Toby was on hand to reassure her on that. "You can't give birth where you are right now."

"We're supposed to be in a hospital," she said, her voice shaky.

"And instead we're in the comforts of home," Walter said. "Remember? You were scared with Ralph because you spent so long in an unfamiliar place, you were alone, you had no idea what was happening. Now you do. Now you're with your family in a place you love. This is going to be okay. But you gotta stand up and walk for just a minute. Okay?"

She nodded, shakily getting to her feet, one hand clinging to Walter's arm, the other back inside her shorts. Walter slid an arm around her as she hobbled to the bed.

"Oh my God," Paige said, crawling on all fours to the middle of the mattress then stopping, lowering her head and panting. "Oh my God."

Walter climbed up next to her and gently rubbed her lower back, where he knew she'd been having some pain. "Just breathe."

The sound of his voice seemed to calm her, if only for a few seconds. "Walter, my shorts," she said frantically. Understanding, he eased them off her hips and she managed to get them off of her legs as she shifted her knees apart. "Oh God," she whimpered.

"Does it hurt now?" He asked.

"No. But it's so uncomfortable." The last word sounded strained. She slowly rocked back and forth, grunting in discomfort. She dropped her head, her whole body tensing as she grunted again.

Walter kept massaging her back. He had no idea what else to do. Everything he'd read was failing to show up for role call. He had an IQ of 197 and he couldn't remember the basis for coaching Paige through delivery.

_Where was Ralph?_

Paige rose up on her knees, leaning against Walter, and he kissed her on the temple, wanting to tell her it would be okay, but not wanting to draw attention to the fact that Ralph was not back yet. She wrapped an arm around his neck. He could hear her breathing through her teeth.

Then her breathing shortened to a pant, and he felt her fingers digging into his arm as she tensed again. Then she gave a small yelp and her posture faltered, nearly dropping her to the mattress. She pulled away from Walter, dropping back onto all fours, then turning around and bracing on her arms, her legs bent, knees far apart. Walter froze. Suddenly, the top of their son's head was visible, revealing what looked like thick black hair.

He lifted his eyes to see Paige looking right back at him. Her own eyes were wide, her brow glistening with sweat, and the shirt she'd been sleeping in clinging to her body. He moved closer to her, running a hand up and down her leg. "You're doing great," he said.

"I'm so tired." She wiped her brow, then shifted her weight, curling her hands into fists around the corners of the pillows behind her.

"You're almost done. You know that." Walter shook his head, remembering all the times that Paige had mentioned how much the contractions were tiring her out. If Toby had been there, he'd have checked her dilation. He'd have realized that she was in active labor. They would have gone to the hospital hours ago.

" _Mom_!"

Walter and Paige turned to see the boy standing in the doorway, a horrified look on his face. "Ralph, where have you _been_?" Walter shouted.

"We drained our phone batteries playing those games earlier," Ralph said. "I was banging on doors until I found a neighbor that was home and I used her phone to call Cabe and the ambulance." He ran across the room, clambering up onto the bed at his mother's shoulder. "Mom!"

"It's okay, Ralph," she said. "Slight change of plans, though." She tipped her head toward him. "Baby, go in the other room."

"No." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm staying with you."

Paige closed her eyes, tucking her head to her chest. Ralph grabbed his mother's hand. "Just squeeze my hand, Mom," he said. "He's almost here."

Walter wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist. Paige was exhausted, and stressed from the sudden realization that she was farther along than they'd thought, but she wasn't scared. Ralph, for all his attempts to hide it, clearly was. This was his mother. And this wasn't how they'd expected things to go. "Good job, Ralph," he said. "Hold her hand. Paige, the head is almost here, okay? Ralph, hand me that pillow behind you." He took it from the boy, removing the case and throwing it over his shoulder. The last push had delivered more of the head, and Walter wondered at how much hair his son had. "Paige, he's head down, he's exactly how he's supposed to be." He rubbed her leg gently. "Can you push again?"

Paige drew in a deep breath, tucking her head back to her chest. Ralph added his other hand, squeezing hers with both of his watching her intently. Walter smiled at the sight before returning his gaze to between Paige's legs. "There you go," he said, reaching forward, gently helping to guide the head out. "Head's here, Paige, rest a minute. He's got thick, thick black hair, Paige."

She sat up ever so slightly, trying to peer over her stomach. Then she slid a hand down, lovingly stroking the baby's wet hair with her thumb. Then she slowly traced around the head, rolling her lower lip under. "You're not tearing," Walter said. "I promise. This progressing without us knowing could be a blessing in disguise." He wanted to keep talking; anything to drown out her heavy breathing, but he didn't know what else to say.

Paige lifted her hand up to her brow, wiping it, then wrapped it back around the pillow. "Almost done," Walter reminded her. _As long as..._ Paige had told him that when Ralph was born, his shoulders had temporarily become stuck. Shoulder dystocia could be serious – thankfully in that case, all she'd had to do was change positions. But it could easily turn into an emergency situation. And they were not equipped. "Ralph, how long did they say the ambulance would be?"

"They're required to be here in under nine minutes," Ralph said. "I think that's the law. I don't know. I don't remember." His face changed.

"It's okay, Ralph," Walter said. "It's okay to not remember things, sometimes."

"It's only been four minutes," Ralph said.

"Walter," Paige said.

"Push again," he agreed, nodding. He gently turned the baby's head to one side, using the pillowcase to try and clean around the nose and mouth.

"Oh my God," Paige gasped, digging her heels into the mattress.

"Paige, he's...he's almost here, oh my God, you're doing so..." Walter slid a hand under the baby, supporting his head, and nodded rapidly at Paige. "Paige, he's almost here, he's..."

Then suddenly he was, sliding into Walter's hands. "Whoa, whoa," he said, sitting up, gathering the baby to his chest, terrified of losing his grip. "Oh my God..."

Paige's eyes opened, looking up at them, a smile on her face. "Oh Walter, let me see him."

"He's..." The baby squirmed in his arms. "He's...he's perfect." Walter walked forward on his knees, carefully extending his arms over Paige's body. She reached up, taking the baby from him and drawing him against her chest.

Walter looked at Ralph. The boy was smiling. A small frown came over the older genius' face. Ralph noticed, and he frowned too, looking confused.

Thankfully, Paige was too enamored with the newborn to notice. "Hi, little one," she was saying in a low, gentle voice. "Oh my gosh, you're _so_ beautiful."

Walter smiled. He crawled up the bed, to Paige's other side, and settled down next to her. Paige looked at him lovingly. "Walter, he's perfect."

"I know," he said quietly, reaching over and drawing her closer by her chin. She closed her eyes as he kissed her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said, resting her head on his shoulder while she looked at the baby.

"He's so little," Ralph said. The tone the boy used was unfamiliar. Walter looked at him. Ralph was staring at his brother.

"The ambulance will be here soon, right?" Paige asked. "We need to get him checked out."

No sooner had she spoken was there a knock at the front door. Ralph jumped up to get it.

"We need a blanket to wrap him in," Paige told Walter.

"The ambulance is here," he said. They'll make sure both of you are nice and warm."

"I wish Ralph hadn't been in here," she said, shaking her head. "He's just a kid, Walter. He's just a kid. And he saw..." she bit her lip. "He shouldn't have been in here."

Walter slid an arm around her back as she sat up, helping her cradle the newborn with his other hand. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe Ralph being in here was exactly what he needed."


	4. Chapter 4

"How is he?" Paige asked the moment Walter and Ralph walked into the room.

"He's fine," Walter said. "He had an elevated heart rate when they brought him in, but they said it's coming down to normal. He was probably just stressed from the delivery."

"Well, we all were," Paige said. "And he was the least aware of what was going on, so I suppose he's entitled to a little panic."

Walter smiled, glancing down at Ralph. With calling the team, Sean and Louise, and Veronica, the two of them hadn't had a chance to talk. He wanted to. He wanted to take the boy aside and promise him that nothing had changed with the addition of Ralph's brother. He was just as committed to the older boy before Paige had gotten pregnant – before he and Paige had even gotten together. _My relationship with your mother will never dictate my relationship with you._

"They're going to bring him by in an hour or so," Walter said to Paige, "once they've made sure he's completely within the normal range."

"Good." Paige looked sad. "I only got to hold him for a few moments."

Walter remembered the warmth of the baby as he'd clutched him to his chest in his first moments of life. He wanted to hold him again, too. Most of all, he wanted to hold Paige as she him. "You'll hold him again soon," He assured her, walking around the bed brushing her hair back, tucking it behind her ear.

"I know." She looked up at him, smiling. "Hey."

"Hey." He smiled back. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good," she said. "I'm really good. They said I could be released today. Tonight."

"Good. See? Everything worked out well."

Paige bit her lip. "Yeah. Uh, Ralph?"

The boy raised his eyebrows as she turned to face him. "Yeah, Mom?"

"You shouldn't have been in there when he was born," Paige said. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"Don't be sorry, Mom," Ralph said.

"No, I am. You're not even fifteen."

"Mom." Ralph bit his lip. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"Promise you won't be mad?"

Paige cocked her head. "Uh, sure."

Ralph shifted his weight awkwardly. "I wasn't lying when I said I was excited about the baby. But I was more excited about what it would mean for me and Walter."

Paige glanced at Walter. He hoped his face didn't show that he knew what Ralph was talking about. Looking back at her older son, Paige cleared her throat. "You and Walter?"

"If you guys broke up," Ralph said, "if we ever moved away...so many things can happen. Walter had a falling out with Cabe. He didn't see him for years. It might be too hard for us to keep our relationship. I'm not his biological son. But once I found out about Ron, I...I remembered how hard you tried to keep Drew in my life. And you'd try just as hard to keep Walter in Ron's, no matter what happened. And then I'd...I'd get to see him too."

Judging by the look on Paige's face, Walter determined that it had been right of him not to bring this up when she was in labor.

Ralph bit his lip before continuing. "Every time you passed a milestone, like seeing the heartbeat. Learning he's a boy, feeling him kick, viability, I...got more excited because this security blanket was becoming less and less likely to be swept out from under me. But today..." He grabbed her hand. "Today when he was born, it all felt different. I was there. With you and Walter. I was a part of it. And it reminded me that we're already a family. And that I was an idiot to think that he would ever leave me just because he's not my father." Ralph lifted his eyes to Walter and smiled. "And when Ron was born, I realized that I love him. And not for selfish reasons. I love him because he's my brother. And I have to protect him." He smiled. "I remember you talking to Walter about the birth of the parent. I didn't understand that then. But now I do. Because when he was born, I became a brother. And I like that."

Walter had watched Paige as Ralph talked, seeing her grow misty eyed. When the boy stopped, she covered his hand with her other one. "Oh, Ralphie," she whispered. "I'm so sorry we didn't know that you were feeling that way. And I'm so glad that you love him now. That's all that matters, you know. When there's a new baby, everyone has to get used to the idea. And it's okay if you weren't completely happy about it at first. I'm not mad, baby. I could never be mad at something like that."

"Ron?"

Paige and Ralph looked over at him in confusion, and Walter realized he had spoken the thought that popped into his head out loud. Paige blinked, looking back at Ralph, realizing what Walter meant. "You called him Ron."

"Yeah, well..." Ralph shoved his hands in his pockets. "That's what I've been calling him. In my head."

Paige looked at Walter, eyebrows raised. "Do you like that?"

"Ron?" Walter shrugged. "I...I don't have any real thought..."

"After Grandma," Ralph said. "In my head, we named him after Grandma. And Walter. Ronald Walter Dineen."

Paige ran the tip of her tongue along her lower lip as she squeezed Ralph's hand. She glanced at Walter again. "I like it."

"I do too," Walter said. He hadn't realized that _Ron_ was a homage to _Veronica._ But it didn't surprise him to learn it was. Ralph had always been close to Paige's mother.

"That's his name, then," Paige said softly. "Ronald Walter. But, um..." She looked over at Walter. "Can you sit?"

Walter nodded, settling on the bed beside her. She removed one of her hands from Ralph's and slid it into his. "There's something about that name that I'm not sure I like."

"We don't have to name him after me," Walter said. "I think Ralph would be okay if you picked the middle name."

"No," Paige said. "Ronald Walter is perfect. But can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Anything."

Paige wet her lips, glancing down at their hands before reestablishing the eye contact. "Will you marry me?"

Walter thought his heart literally skipped a beat. "What?"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And...and Ralph does, too."

"Is this because of what Ralph..."

"No." She shook her head rapidly. "No, it's not. I promise. It's because I love you. And I don't see that ever changing. And as much as Ronald Walter Dineen sounds lovely, I want him to be Ronald Walter O'Brien."

"That's significant, Walter," Ralph said. "She didn't give me Drew's last name."

Walter could see the excitement on the boy's face. He looked back at Paige. He used to feel afraid when she looked at him like that. It was so like what he'd dared to dream about that he used to have to remind himself that what was between them was real. Now, the love brimming in her eyes made him feel confidant. Safe. Sure.

He drew her hand up to his lips. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too. With all three of you."

Paige smiled, a little laugh escaping her. "Come on, Walter, _I_ proposed, the least _you_ can do is give me an explicit answer."

He grinned, leaning down and brushing his lips across hers. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."


End file.
